Weekly Digest: April 2025 | Week 1

Highlights

• Bitcoin fell 4% to $83,000, driven by hotter-than-expected inflation data and renewed trade tensions.

• Ethereum’s burn rate hit an all-time low, signaling minimal mainnet activity post-Dencun upgrade.

• PumpSwap captured 15% of Solana’s DEX trading volume, challenging Raydium’s dominance.

• Strategy crossed 500,000 BTC in holdings, with GameStop joining the list of Bitcoin treasury allocators.

Market Update

Bitcoin closed last week down 4% at $83,000, weighed down by a hot PCE inflation print of 2.8% YoY (vs. 2.7% forecast) and rising geopolitical tension due to a 25% U.S. tariff on imported vehicles. Canada and Mexico responded with threats of retaliation, further escalating the trade war narrative across risk markets.

More than $1 billion in long liquidations occurred across centralized crypto exchanges as traders were caught off-guard by macro events. Despite this, Bitcoin ETF inflows remained resilient, totaling $195 million, with BlackRock’s IBIT contributing $170 million—now holding 47% of total Bitcoin ETF AUM. On the flip side, Fidelity’s FBTC saw $93 million in outflows on Friday, ending its 10-day inflow streak.

In Ethereum, ETF flows were less encouraging: $9 million in net outflows, although the week ended with the first positive inflow day in over two weeks.

Meanwhile, Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) purchased 6,911 BTC for $584M, taking its holdings to 506,137 BTC (~2.4% of total supply), worth over $44 billion. This acquisition was backed by an upsized $722.5M STRF offering. Inspired by Strategy, GameStop announced plans to acquire Bitcoin via a $1.3 billion convertible note issuance, briefly pushing its stock up 12% before falling 8% post-clarification about dilution risks.

Our take: While GameStop’s approach mirrors unconventional treasury strategies, it marks a broader trend of public companies exploring Bitcoin-backed financial engineering—a signal of maturing corporate interest in crypto as a balance sheet tool.

Ethereum Update

Ethereum’s daily burn rate hit 53 ETH, the lowest since EIP-1559 was introduced in 2021. This collapse in burned ETH reflects a significant drop in mainnet engagement, exacerbated by the March 2024 Dencun upgrade. By introducing EIP-4844 blobs, Dencun slashed Layer 2 data posting costs, reducing the fees—and thus burn rate—on Ethereum’s base layer.

As a result:

• Ethereum’s supply is inflating again at an annualized 0.76%, reversing Q1’s deflationary -0.37%.

• Monthly active addresses hit a low not seen since November 2023.

• On-chain trading volume dropped 51% since December, falling to $103 billion.

• Validator revenue dropped to $118M in March, down from $339M in December.

• Average transaction fees hit a 5-year low at $0.40.

This activity slump continues to weigh on Ethereum’s relative price performance, with ETH/BTC down 35% year-to-date.

In brighter news, MegaETH, a high-performance L2, is nearing launch. Its testnet supports 20,000 TPS, aiming for 100,000 TPS and 10ms block times. Using a hybrid validium architecture built on EigenDA, it offloads data while anchoring settlement on Ethereum, targeting complex apps like order-book DEXs and games.

Our take: Ethereum’s scalability advancements may paradoxically dilute mainnet value accrual. Without tokenomics that reward base-layer engagement, even major technical wins might not sustain ETH’s economic model.

Solana Update

Solana continued to attract both retail and institutional attention last week.

Institutional Growth

• BlackRock expanded its BUIDL fund to Solana, joining Franklin Templeton, which had earlier moved its $671M FOBXX fund onto the chain.

• Fidelity also registered a Solana Fund Trust, joining ETF hopefuls Grayscale, VanEck, and Franklin Templeton.

• Solana CME futures and futures-based ETFs are already live, paving the way for potential spot ETF approval.

Retail + DeFi Developments

• Polymarket added direct SOL deposits, expanding beyond Polygon-based USDC. While user activity dropped 30% from January highs, this integration could reverse that trend.

• Pump.fun, a creator-focused dApp, earned $37M in protocol fees in March (down from $89M in Feb) and launched PumpSwap, a native DEX for graduated tokens. This move cuts out Raydium and removes the 6 SOL migration fee, attracting creators with better economics and potential revenue sharing.

• PumpSwap captured 15% of Solana’s DEX volume last week ($1.4B), challenging Raydium’s 20% share ($1.8B).

Raydium responded by launching LaunchLab, a toolkit for memecoin creation with:

• Customizable bonding curves (linear, exponential, logarithmic)

• Multiple base tokens (SOL, USDT, USDC)

• Liquidity locking via Fee Key NFTs

Our take: Solana is fast evolving into a dual appeal ecosystem, welcoming both TradFi tokenization and retail speculation, with platforms like Pump.fun and Raydium adapting quickly to solidify their roles in a shifting landscape.

Closing Thoughts

This week’s market action reflects a broader pattern of macroeconomic uncertainty clashing with crypto adoption tailwinds:

• Bitcoin is showing resilience amid inflation pressures and trade disputes.

• Ethereum is battling a paradox: technical progress vs. weakening token economics.

• Solana stands out for blending retail creativity with institutional onboarding, carving a unique position in the multichain narrative.

FinchTrade remains at the forefront, delivering tailored liquidity, execution, and market insights to help our partners thrive in dynamic conditions.